Things were looking bad at the end of regulation for the Giants as Lawrence Tynes missed two straight fields goals including one as time was expiring.  But he redeemed himself in OT as he made CB Corey Webster’s interception of Brett Favre in OT stand up.  The Giants advance to the Super Bowl with a rematch with the Patriots who the Giants gave all they could handle in the last week of the regular season.  Eli Manning continued his solid post season play as he completed 21 of 40 passes for 254 yards.  Brandon Jacobs rushed for 67 yards on 21 carries (3.2 ypc) with a TD run.  Ahmad Bradshaw shared the running game with Jacobs as he carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Plaxico Burress had an outstanding game as he caught 11 passes for 154 yards (14.0 avg).  Amani Toomer pitched in with 4 grabs for 42 yards (10.5 avg).  The Giants finished up with 134 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 40 passes for 246 yards.

The Giants really played well, especially in the second half and overtime.  Safety Gibril Wilson led the way for the Giants on defense with 8 tackles.  Cornerback Corey Webster only had three tackles but he also had the big interception of Brett Favre in overtime to set up kicker Lawrence Tynes for the game winning kick.  The Packers finished up with 28 yards rushing on 14 carries (2.0 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 35 passes for 236 yards.

This should be a great game to watch on T.V. as the game time temperature is expected to be 4 degrees.  Still, the Giants and Packers are used to cold weather so the best team will still likely win the game. 

The Giants will need to run the football effectively to have any chance to win this football game.  That’s because the Packers don’t blitz often which leaves their linebackers in pass coverage which will hurt the Giants when they try to throw short.  With that in mind the Giants will likely try to pound the football with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  It will be interesting to see who wins the battle up front because if the Giants can’t run the ball and give Eli Manning time to throw the ball this game will be over quick.

The Packers will likely lean on their running game in the frigid weather.  This will likely be a problem for the Giants who had big problems last week with Marion Barber.  Ryan Grant rushed for 201 yards last week against the Seahawks and he’ll be looking to make the Giants pay for trading him to the Packers for a 6th round pick.  The Giants will likely have huge problems with Brett Favre because he gets rid of the ball so fast that it will likely negate the Giants pass rush which is the strength of their team. 

PREDICTION:  GREEN BAY PACKERS 28, NEW YORK GIANTS 13

The Giants were thinking about firing Tom Coughlin in the off-season last year but they decided to keep him and he has led the Giants on a sweet ride so far this season.  The Giants finished 2nd in the NFC East with a 10-6 record which earned them a Wild Card spot.  The Giants then defeated the Bucs and Cowboys on the road which has them now one game away from playing in the Super Bowl.  Coughlin has now been the head coach of the Giants for four seasons now and he has a regular season record of 35-29 (.547 %).  Coughlin is now 2-2 in the playoffs with the Giants.  Coughlin has now been a NFL head coach for 12 seasons with the Jaguars and Giants and he has a regular season record of 103-89 (.536 %) and a post season record of 6-6 (.500 %).

The Giants only had possession of the football for 23:30 of this football game but that’s all they needed to advance to the NFC Championship Game.  Eli Manning was outstanding as he completed 12 of 18 passes for 163 yards with 2 TD passes.  Brandon Jacobs was solid with 54 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.9 ypc) with a TD run.  Ahmad Bradshaw also ran the ball well in this game as he carried the ball 6 times for 34 yards (5.7 ypc).  Amani Toomer had a monster game as he caught 4 passes for 80 yards with 2 TD grabs.  Steve Smith also made some clutch plays as he caught 4 passes for 48 yards.  The Giants finished up with 90 yards on 23 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 18 passes for 140 yards.

The Giants defense was led by safety Gibril Wilson (10 tackles) and end Michael Strahan (8 tackles).  The Cowboys finished up with 154 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 36 passes for 182 yards.

This will be the third game between these two rivals which were both won by the Dallas Cowboys.  Still, the Cowboys haven’t played in the last couple of weeks and they rested their players in the last regular season game against the Redskins so they could be rusty.  The Giants however are playing their best football of the season and they are 8-1 on the road this season with the only loss at Dallas.

The key to the game for the Giants when they have the football will be mixing up the play calling.  That’s because the Giants will be in trouble if they know when Eli Manning will be throwing the football.  CBs Terence Newman and Anthony Henry are outstanding cover corners so look for Manning to throw the ball a lot to tight end Kevin Boss over the middle of the football field. 

The Cowboys will try to also mix up the play calling to slow the Giants pass rush which has been outstanding all season long.  Look for the Cowboys to lean on Marion Barber in the running game and TE Jason Witten in the passing game.  The Giants defense will likely focus on stopping Terrell Owens who dominated them this season.  With that in mind look for the Cowboys to use Patrick Crayton and Terry Glenn often.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 31, GIANTS 27